Effect of food intake on the metabolic clearance rate of aldosterone.

Abstract

The effect of eating on the metabolic clearance rate (MCR) of aldosterone was investigated in 10 adult individuals. 3H-aldosterone was infused continuously over a period of 5 h while the subjects remained supine. Three h after the start of the infusion, each subject ate a bowl of soup. The MCR of aldosterone, before and after the intake of food, was calculated by dividing the rate of infusion of 3H-aldosterone by the mean concentration of under the same conditions but without eating. The MCR of aldosterone (mean +/- 1 SD) was 1284 +/- 513 L/24 h before food intake and 2182 +/- 180 L/24 h after food intake in the 10 individuals who ate. The MCR in the 11 subjects who did not eat was 1363 +/- 446 and 1357 +/- 434 during the same periods (p greater than 0.05). The 29% increase in the MCR induced by eating was highly significant (p less than 0.001); it was similar in magnitude and duration to a previously reported effect of food intake on the hepatic blood flow (13).